> This page location: Docs > Reference > CLI
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# CLI

> The Semantius CLI: scripting and automation for headless agents and shell workflows.

- **URL**: https://www.semantius.com/docs/cli

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The **Semantius CLI** is a single binary, `semantius`, that gives you full access to your Semantius platform from a regular shell. Where the [MCP connectors](https://www.semantius.com/docs/mcp-connectors.md) target interactive AI chats and the [agent skills](https://www.semantius.com/docs/agent-skills.md) target IDE-based coding agents, the CLI is the layer underneath: a scriptable, no-frills entry point built for **automation and headless agents**.

## What the CLI Is For

Use the CLI whenever you need Semantius to run **without a human in the loop**:

- **Headless agents** running on a server, in a container, or in the background, that need to introspect the model, read or write business data, and run analytical queries without a chat client wrapping them.
- **Shell scripts and Bun / Node scripts** that chain Semantius calls together (read an entity, transform with `jq`, write a record, kick off an analytical query).
- **Recurring or scheduled jobs** that seed data, run nightly imports, or fan out an analytical query across many tables.
- **One-off tasks** in the terminal: search tools, inspect a tool's schema, or call a tool with inline JSON.

The CLI works in two modes: `crud` for managing your model and reading or writing records, and `cube` for CubeJS-compatible analytics. Any tool you can call from Claude or ChatGPT through the [MCP connectors](https://www.semantius.com/docs/mcp-connectors.md), you can call from a shell, with the same arguments.

## Why a CLI in Addition to MCP

The MCP connectors are perfect for conversational use, but they assume an MCP host on the other end. The CLI removes that assumption:

- **No client required.** Run it from bash, zsh, PowerShell, a Docker entrypoint, a cron job.
- **Composable.** Pipe output through `jq`, `xargs`, `awk`, save to a file, fan out, retry, branch.
- **Predictable.** Stable command surface (`info`, `grep`, `call`), JSON in and JSON out, exit codes you can check.
- **Fast.** A built-in lazy-spawn daemon keeps MCP connections warm between calls so chained commands do not pay startup cost every time.

## Installation

The CLI is installed as part of the **Agent Skills** setup, since the skills call the local `semantius` binary under the hood. Follow the installer for your OS, then verify with `semantius --version`:

[Install the Semantius CLI](https://www.semantius.com/docs/agent-skills/installation.md#1-install-the-semantius-cli)

The same page covers credential setup (`SEMANTIUS_API_KEY`, `SEMANTIUS_ORG`) via either shell exports or a `.env` file. Once that is done, the CLI is ready to use on its own, with or without an agent.

## Next Steps

- **[The semantius command →](https://www.semantius.com/docs/cli/command.md)**: learn the basic command surface, the `crud` and `cube` modes, and how to call them.
- **[use-semantius skill →](https://www.semantius.com/docs/cli/use-semantius.md)**: drop-in skill that teaches an agent to use the CLI productively.

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## Related

- [Installation](https://www.semantius.com/docs/agent-skills/installation.md)
- [semantius command](https://www.semantius.com/docs/cli/command.md)
- [Docs home](https://www.semantius.com/docs.md)
- [Full index for agents](https://www.semantius.com/llms.txt)